Bleach 566 – Fear Me Not

Renji’s time in the spotlight has been put on hold for now as he takes a nap after defeating Mask de Masculine. His hiding spot turns out to be a poor choice however, and Nanana Najahkoop finds him and observes him sleeping. Renji has never been the brightest shinigami out there, but luckily for him, for some unknown reason the Sternritter chooses not to dispatch him while he’s vulnerable and instead fight him after he wakes. I certainly hope it’s not because some honor bullshit, because Nanana just made a really stupid decision. Nevertheless, I’m sure he will be able to give Renji a run for his money and catch him off guard; after all, the protagonists almost always face the villains in ascending order of strength.

Right now, its Rukia’s time to show off her new skills, and after seeing Renji’s fight, I’m pretty curious as to what she’ll be capable of. As she roams around Soul Society, she runs into As Nodt – a fitting match-up against the person that took Senbonzakura and defeated Byakuya in the first round. The somewhat androgynous As Nodt has huge black irises and a very slim and tall figure; as before, his power is “true fear”. Despite his creepy appearance, he seems somewhat arrogant and overly talkative regarding his powers, a sign of weakness and predictor of defeat in Bleach. I’m pretty sure she will be able to kick his ass handily; she’s already off to a pretty good start by easily overcoming the fear. Being “incapable of fear”, it is now her turn to strike fear into As Nodt’s heart. Of course this battle probably still has a few chapters to go, and both of them have yet to reveal any more powerful abilities like Volstandig or Bankai. Rukia has clearly advanced several levels through her training with the Royal Guard, so I’m still expecting a relatively one-sided battle like Renji vs. Mask. It should be fun watching the new bad-ass Rukia spitting off more cool lines and effortlessly countering her opponent’s powers.

Ho ho, it seems the Shinigami, of the cold yet beautiful ice, will now make As Nodt cower in fear.

Anyway, I am a bit shocked about Renji. Nanana Najahkoop had thought he was faking it, but Renji really was sleeping. I can predict, the moment Ichigo comes back, Renji will say “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, I was able to defeat a horrible star and even get some shut eye.”

Now for Uryu. I will be curious how long until he gets his power. The idea seems nice, to get the same power as a quincy jesus, but it is rather horrible if Uryu has to kill daily in order to avoid rapid aging.

Because I still remember when learning your Bankai was a big deal, and a requisite to made into a Captain. It would just be too ass-pull-y of me for Rukia to learn hers even if she was trained by the best of the best of the best.

It wouldn’t be asspull-y. The Zero Squad members are the most powerful Shinigami, teaching her Bankai would be nothing just as it was for Renji learning his true Bankai (well, he literally didn’t even train but was simply told the real name lol).

Most popular…? Pft… She’s barely been present since the SS arc. I actually forgot her Shikai was ice related its been so long since she used the damn thing. (what in the beginning of the numbered arrancar arc?)

“a sign of weakness and predictor of defeat”. I love that you can review Bleach as if giving a prognosis. “Explaining your powers in the first chapter you appear is a predictor for early defeat and heart disease.”

That would be some bullshit if that happens. Rukia needs her time to shine. I mean what, we’re only 500+ chapters in and the main female character (also the best one) hasn’t had much opportunity to do squat in years. I only remember that one fight of hers against some weird bulbous Aizen bad guy and that was at least a couple years ago right?

Well Byakuya is all about pride, so it wouldn’t be feasible if he had his sister take his revenge in his place for his own bankai, and we’ve seen how he gets if someone lays as much as a finger on his sister. Granted, Rukia definitely deserve a handful of proper battles before the series end.

Nanana didnt attack Renji because he thought it was a trick, as he cant believe someone would really sleep in the open like that, he was basically being overcautious, then realized how stupid he was when he found he Renji was really sleeping, lol.